BLOG - ER Ramachandran

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Kuntebille in Karnataka

As we sipped the best coffee in the campus canteen, I asked the Ace Political Expert (APE), what he thought of the University’s move to cut trees wholesale, to make way for a Laboratory.

‘It’s ridiculous. It’s akin to ‘Fence eating the Crops’. It’s in schools and colleges one expects the teachers to instill a sense of responsibility in the students to respect and preserve the environment. However, some of our Professors who lecture nonstop during a ‘vana mahothsava’ function, seem to practice ‘Ona mahothsava’ for the rest of the year!’

‘I believe the trees are cut to make way for Molecular Biology Department’.

‘That’s the irony! On the one hand, you remove life from trees and convert them to a pile of wood, and on the other, create a Life Science Department!! It’s all nice to hear that more saplings will be planted, but does any one care to comprehend the loss to the environment when you go on chopping well-grown trees? It reminds me of a similar incident during Chinese aggression during the ‘Hindi-Cheeni Bhai- Bhai’ days. When Prime Minister Nehru told the parliament that not a blade of grass grows in Akshaichin area and we shouldn’t make too much of losing land to China, the ever irrepressible Acharya Kripalani asked Nehru, ‘ As per your theory, should I cut my head as I have become bald now?!’.

‘What do you think of the Kannada Sahithya Sammelna that was held in Shivamogga?’

‘ In terms of participation, it drew a large crowd. But it appears to have widened the rift between practitioners of politics and literature, which is a pity. Here was an excellent opportunity to, possibly, create a ‘Kannada Wave’ in the State, which could have ushered classical status for the language, brought our border brethren to the fold and created a stronger Karnataka that spoke and acted in unison. Unfortunately, political interference from literati themselves and a grand spectacle of fights on the dais seemed to have negated whatever it gained in the Sammelana. Sahitya Sammelna, to a large extent, became, ‘Kusthi Akhada’ of ‘Hattu Mane Garudi’!

‘The year is ending. How do you see Karnataka in 2007?’

‘ We will see the Test of 20-month theory of power- sharing. Even if there is smooth transfer of power, I already see an Internal Tsunami brewing in BJP ranks. Here too, we may have ‘C.M.- in –Waiting’ queue as in Center, where there is already a

P.M.- in –Waiting line! This is a case of ‘koosu huttoke munche Kulavi’!, concluded the APE.